1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus including a recording unit capable of recording an image on a recording medium, a file input device capable of receiving a file from the outside, an external storage unit capable of reading and writing a digital image file, and a user interface. The present invention also relates to a recording control program for the recording apparatus.
2. Related Art
Recording apparatuses (e.g., printers) including external storage units, such as hard disc drives, are known (see, for example, JP-A-2005-349663). In such a recording apparatus, generally, a process of recording an image on a recording medium and a process of reading or writing a digital image file by an external storage unit are executed by respective individual operations. For example, if the recording apparatus has a direct print function, a user may operate a user interface included in the recording apparatus to arbitrarily select one or more of a plurality of digital image files stored in a digital camera that is directly connected to the recording apparatus or in a memory card inserted in a memory card slot. After selecting one or more of the digital image files, the user performs a predetermined record execution operation, for example, an operation of pressing a record execution button. Accordingly, direct print control is executed in which images of the selected digital image files are recorded on recording media. Also when the user wishes to store desired digital image files using the external storage unit mounted in the recording apparatus, the user operates the user interface included in the recording apparatus to select one or more of the digital image files stored in the digital camera that is directly connected to the recording apparatus or in the memory card inserted in the memory card slot. After selecting one or more of the desired digital image files, the user performs a predetermined save execution operation, for example, an operation of pressing a save execution button. Accordingly, file save control is performed in which the selected digital image files are stored by the external storage unit.
In the recording apparatus including the external storage unit, such as a hard disc drive, after the user selects the desired digital images from the digital image files stored in the digital camera or in the memory card, the user may wish to execute both the process of recording the images of the desired digital image files on the recording media and the process of storing the desired digital image files by the external storage unit. In the known recording apparatus, as described above, the record execution operation for recording the images on the recording media and the save execution operation for saving the digital image files by the external storage unit are performed independently of each other. Therefore, the operation of selecting the desired digital image files from the digital image files stored in the digital camera or in the memory card must be performed for each of the process of recording the images on the recording media and the process of storing the digital image files by the external storage unit. In other words, in the known recording apparatus including the external storage unit, exactly the same file-selecting operation as that performed for the recording process must be repeated for the file-saving process. Thus, a cumbersome task of repeating the file-selecting operation must be performed.